Learn the Lingo

You will likely encounter many specialized terms when dealing with educational professionals, as well as when networking with other parents who have more experience dealing with the special education system. We hope the following tools will help demystify some of this terminology, also known humourously as 'EDUspeak'. Learning the lingo is the first step to successful advocating for your child.

We acknowledge the contributions of ABC Peel, ABC Waterloo and Valerie Gravelle to the development of this glossary.

We have organized this Glossary into two sections:

This is a quick reference list of some of the most commonly used acronyms in gifted education (and education in general, including special education.) For full definitions of the terms, please refer to ABC's Glossary for Gifted Education.

True definitions can be found here. Acronyms have usually been organized under the full words rather than the initials. To find the full words that match an acronym please consult ABC's Alphabet Soup first.